Why These Five Candidates Should Be in the State Assembly

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In this election cycle, as in 2018, suburban women are again in the spotlight nationally, running for elected office in record numbers. This is also certainly the case in Milwaukee’s suburbs. There is a good reason for very talented women to set aside their careers to run for elected office: When they watch the legislative leadership continue to fight science and sue to eliminate a simple mask-wearing ordinance, putting families and the economy at risk, they feel it’s time to get involved.

These women refuse to just sit back and watch as COVID-19 cases rise and the death count continue to grow in our state while the Republican legislative leadership plays power games. They want to get something done for all our citizens.

We are fortunate that this year, there are a number of highly qualified, principled and pragmatic, no-nonsense women running in suburban or partially suburban State Assembly districts surrounding Milwaukee. We need candidates like these women who will work across the aisle to develop fair and balanced legislation that improves the lives of regular working people. These races will be tough, but these women can win.

Introducing the candidates in alphabetical order:

Deb Andraca is running in Assembly District 23, which includes Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, Bayside, as well as Eastern Mequon, Thiensville and Grafton. She is running against Jim Ott, who has been in the legislature for 14 years.

Andraca has a diverse and very impressive career along with a list of volunteer civic positions. She’s a proud mother of two daughters. Career wise, Andraca was a vice president at FleishmanHillard, an international public relations firm. She worked in Washington, D.C., for the Solar Energy Industries Association. She was also the communications director and lobbyist at the Environmental Law and Policy Center. Andraca has a master’s degree in political management from George Washington University. After her daughters were in school, she went back to college for a teaching credential at Alverno and became a teacher.

In her teaching position, she experienced a lockdown drill where students learned safety procedures in case of a mass shooter. That lead her again onto a political path pushing for some basic common-sense gun laws, support for public education and high-quality health care. When her efforts failed to get any serious responses from her state legislator regarding these issues fell through, she decided that, “if I can’t change our Representative’s mind, I would have to change his job.”

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For more information on Andraca, go to debforwi.com.

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Dora Drake is running in Assembly District 11, which includes portions of Glendale and Milwaukee.

Drake was born and raised in Milwaukee’s Graceland neighborhood. The oldest of eight siblings, she has the drive that oldest children often have. She was accepted into Marquette University’s Educational Opportunities Program and worked at least two jobs while attending classes. She graduated with a degree in Social Welfare and Justice. She has worked in the criminal justice system and was a Pretrial Case Manager at JusticePoint, a nonprofit that promotes “evidence-informed criminal just programs.” She also works at the Center for Self Sufficiency, where she helps individuals to successfully re-enter society.

Drake has a reputation for being very solution-oriented and an effective bridge builder. She believes in giving individuals who have made some mistakes in their lives and served their time an honest second chance. She is definitely someone who will be able to work across the aisle to get things done.

For more information, go to doradrakeforwi.com.

Sara Rodriguez is running in Assembly District 13 which includes portions of Wauwatosa, West Allis, Elm Grove and Brookfield.

Rodriguez is a graduate of Brookfield East High School and is now a working mom with two kids. She has two master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University in Public Health and in Nursing. In addition to having worked as a nurse, she was also a health care executive serving in various roles, including founding a health care consulting firm.

She was vice president of population health and integrated care management at a local health system. Rodriguez also worked in public health positions at state, local and federal agencies, including as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She also served in the Peace Corps. Now, she volunteers as a girl scout leader for her daughter’s troop.

For more information, go to saraforwi.com.

Emily Siegrist is running in Assembly District 24, which includes Brown Deer, River Hills and parts of Glendale, Mequon, Menomonee Falls and Germantown.

Siegrist is a nurse practitioner, a veteran, a teacher and a mother of two. While growing up, her family had some financial hardships that taught her to work hard, look for avenues to succeed and to take advantage of the opportunities that are available. After high school, she joined the Army National Guard, where she excelled, and then went on to college and again excelled, becoming a nurse practitioner.

She wants opportunities for our young people where they can reach their life goals through hard work. That requires excellent educational opportunities and state legislation that builds a strong economy in Wisconsin to provide good jobs for today’s children. Beside fighting for excellent educational opportunities and a strong economy, her other issues are providing high-quality, affordable health care and a cleaner environment along with addressing veterans’ issues.

Siegrist ran a strong campaign for State Assembly in 2018 and is building on that base of support in her 2020 race.

For more information on Siegrist, go to emilysiegristforwi.com.

Robyn Vining is running in Assembly District 14, which includes Brookfield and portions of Wauwatosa and Milwaukee.

Vining is running for her first reelection. She was elected in 2018 and has served her district with distinction for the past two year. Vining has a master’s degree in religion. She is a small business owner and a former pastor. Her areas of interest are protecting the health and safety of families and their children. Vining is a founding board member of Exploit No More, which works to put an end to sex trafficking of children.

She is an outspoken supporter of clean, honest government, and she introduced legislation to insure fairer district boundaries. She is also a dedicated champion for helping small businesses. 

Vining worked hard to get appointed to the State Assembly Committee on Health, Children and Families, and she got appointed to the Financial Institutions and Small Business Development committees as well. Finally, she is a member of the Assembly Task Force on Adoption.

For more information, go to robynforwi.com.

Why These Candidates Are Important for Wisconsin

These five women are the type of individuals who should be in state government. They will set aside politics and work hard to heal our divided state, focus on building a stronger economy with family supporting jobs, and they will promote the health and safety of all of Wisconsin’s citizens. We get to decide whether they get that opportunity on November 3. Your vote matters.

Louis Fortis is a former Wisconsin State Assemblyman who represented Brown Deer and a portion of Glendale and Milwaukee in the late ’80s and early ’90s.